A decade after the withdrawal of the 80s lineup, a new King Crimson emerged in 1994 with a series of concerts in Argentina (some of which can be heard on the official live bootleg ?B?Boom?), & a mini album ?VROOOM? before heading to Peter Gabriel?s RealWorld studios to record the album ?THRAK?. The album was released in 1995 followed by tours in Europe, Japan & the USA. In the USA Crimson joined the HORDE tour for 1995 ? among a floating lineup that included Lenny Kravitz, The Black Crowes & Ziggy Marley. ?THRAK? & its accompanying tours managed the task of appealing to older Crimson fans, while allowing the band to develop a whole new audience ? perhaps unsurprisingly, as many of the musical ideas initially formulated by Crimson lineups of the 70s & 80s had been absorbed, extended & re-presented in a new light by bands directly influenced by earlier Crimson albums & performances.

Had ?THRAK? merely reiterated those ideas most fans would, without doubt, have been happy with the outcome, but a key element in the evolution of Crimson?s music & history has been the band?s unwillingness to simply go on performing & recording for the sake of it. Robert Fripp places great importance on the fact that Crimson only operates when there is music that demands a King Crimson to perform it. This ability to walk away from the group at peak points artistically & commercially (as with the 70s & 80s lineups), is one of the band?s great strengths. It allows for the periodic reinvention of the band & ensures that innovation is a driving factor whenever the group does appear. Crimson refuses to be weighed down by its own history. ?THRAK?, the only studio album by this lineup, was confirmation of how well this approach works, bristling with fresh approaches & sounds.

Almost a decade on from the formation of the double trio lineup, ?THRAK? has all the hallmarks of a classic album ? an album that challenged audience expectations when released, yet still sounds exciting now. If so, it makes Crimson unique in British rock history having a classic album to its name in each of the last four decades (Court of the Crimson King ? 1969, Red ? 1974, Discipline 1981, THRAK 1995).